Conventional motion picture, television and video display and viewing has occurred using two-dimensional (2D) content. Recent technological advances have led to the improved quality of stereoscopic or three-dimensional (3D) content being displayed on 2D display screens, where stereoscopic content provides the illusion of depth perception to the viewer by altering the viewer's focal point for portions of the content. This has led to the more frequent release of motion pictures, television programs and other video content as stereoscopic video content.
After a motion picture or television program has been produced, it is often released and displayed worldwide in a variety of different countries that speak different languages. It is thus common practice to prepare and superimpose subtitles in different respective languages over the motion picture or television program for each different region or country where the content is being displayed. Subtitles are also often included with motion pictures and television programs in association with closed captioning for the hard of hearing.
One of the challenges imposed by stereoscopic video content is that eye fatigue and motion sickness can sometimes be experienced by viewers when there are frequent changes in the focal point of the stereoscopic video content. The display of subtitles on stereoscopic video content can require viewers to frequently switch their eye focus between that of the subtitling and the focal point of the video content being displayed, where this can cause even greater eye fatigue and discomfort for a viewer. Conventional subtitling is prepared as 2D content. However, the display of 2D subtitling simultaneously with stereoscopic video content is undesirable, as it will cause such constant switching of eye focus between the focal point of the display screen for 2D content and the focal point of the stereoscopic video content that will create eye fatigue and strain. Further, the use of stereoscopic subtitles together with the stereoscopic video content can also be challenging, because if the perceived depth of the stereoscopic subtitles interferes with the 3D action (i.e., the focal point of a scene) in the stereoscopic video content, then the viewer could have difficulty viewing either of the video content or the subtitles and could possibly experience eye fatigue and strain.